were
jotted down their pay, with the officer's signature. They had been
used as pocket-books, and held a few odd letters which the men had
received a few days before. Talbot had often been given the pay-books
of men in his company who were killed, but he never failed to be
affected when he discovered the letters and little trifles which had
meant so much to the men who had carried them, and which now would
mean so much to those whom they had left behind.

In silence they went back to McKnutt's tank and sat down, waiting for
news. Scraps of information were beginning to trickle in.

"Have gained our objective in X Wood. Have not been counter-attacked."

"Cannot push on owing to heavy machine-gun fire from C----."

"Holding out with twenty men in trench running north from Derelict
Wood. Can I have reinforcements?"

These were the messages pouring in from different points on the lines
of attack. Sometimes the messages came in twos and threes. Sometimes
there were minutes when only a wild buzzing could be heard and the men
at the telephones tried to make the buzzing intelligible.

The situation cleared up finally, however. Our troops had, apparently,
gained their objectives along the entire line to the right. On the
left the next Brigade had been hung up by devastating machine-gun
fire. As McKnutt and Talbot waited around for news and fresh orders,
one of their men hurried down and saluted.

He brought the news that the other three tanks had returned, having
reached their objectives. Two had but little opposition and the
infantry had found no difficulty in gaining their points of attack.
The third tank, however, had had three men wounded at a "pill-box."
These pill-boxes are little concrete forts which the German had
planted along his line. The walls are of ferro concrete, two to three
feet thick. As the tank reached the pill-box, two Germans slipped out
of the rear door. Three of the tank crew clambered down and got inside
the pill-box. In a moment the firing from inside ceased, and presently
the door flew open. Two British tank men, dirty and grimy, escorting
ten Germans, filed out. The Germans had their hands above their heads,
and when ordered to the rear they went with the greatest alacrity. One
of the three Englishmen was badly wounded; the other two were only
slightly injured, but they wandered down to the dressing-station, with
the hope that "Blighty" would soon welcome them.

Although Talbot had his orders